MOBILE, Ala. ? If their college careers mirror the success experienced at the prep level, the University of South Alabama’s first-ever national signing day recruiting class should help the school’s football team win a lot of games in the coming years.
Twenty-two players who helped lead their team to the state playoffs ? including six who would eventually be crowned champions ? are among the group of 31 individuals who signed National Letters-of-Intent, head coach Joey Jones announced at a 3 p.m. press conference Wednesday. Including a dozen mid-year newcomers, the Jaguars’ first-ever recruiting class includes a total of 43 players.
“Obviously, we wanted to sign good players so we evaluated their ability at each position,” said Jones. “We were interested in bringing individuals with good character who are good students so that they can come to South Alabama and earn their degree.
“We were also interested in picking kids from winning programs because we believe that they will come here with the proper attitude and start us off on the right foot.”
Out of 19 players from Alabama who inked papers Wednesday, a trio of future Jags come from the Mobile area. Jereme Jones, a 5-foot-9, 170-pound receiver, helped McGill-Toolen High to a 9-3 record and the second round of the state 6A playoffs after posting 61 catches for 950 yards, as he earned honorable mention all-state accolades. A 6-foot-4, 300-pound offensive lineman, Sean Kennedy guided Theodore to the second round of the 6A playoffs, while Enrique Williams helped Blount HS qualify for the postseason at the state’s highest level. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound linebacker recorded 34 stops a year ago.
Three sets of teammates from the state are also joining the program. Zach Brownell (6-1, 190, defensive back) and Alex Page (6-2, 240, defensive lineman) both earned all-state honors after helping Prattville High to the 6A state championship, the school’s third in a row. Page was second on the squad with 77 tackles, including 28.5 for loss, while Brownell posted 43 stops and picked off five passes. Another pair of state title winners, Randon Carnathan (6-2, 265, defensive lineman) and Tony Threatt (6-3, 180, defensive back) come to USA from Leeds HS, which claimed the state 3A championship in the fall. The former posted 117 tackles, with 30 behind the line of scrimmage including 19 sacks, while the latter had 76 tackles and five interceptions, two of which he ran back for scores. Both were first-team all-state selections. Corey Besteda (6-2, 175, wide receiver) and Gabriel Mass (6-4, 255, defensive lineman) played together at Jackson High as well.
Three individuals come from Tuscaloosa. Ellis Hill (5-9, 190), the only running back in the class, helped Hillcrest HS reach the 6A playoffs. Jared Palmer (6-2, 170), a wide receiver from Northridge High, aided the school in reaching the 6A playoffs as a junior when he recorded 47 catches for 794 yards and eight touchdowns, but he missed five games due to injury last fall. Corey Waldon (5-10, 165, wide receiver) caught 38 passes for 838 yards and 10 scores while helping Central High to a first-round victory in the state 5A playoffs.
The only other offensive players from the state are Greg Hollinger, a 6-foot-4, 205-pound wide receiver from Excel High School, and Fort Payne High’s Josh Terry. The latter, a 6-foot-3, 280-pound offensive lineman graded out at 93 percent for his career while leading the school to a 29-6 mark during that three-season stretch.
Will Thompson is a 6-foot-5, 235-pound defensive lineman from Buckhorn High in Huntsville, while linebackers Devondrick Richardson (6-3, 210) and Tyrone Williams (6-1, 200) come from Barbour County and Thomasville High Schools, respectively. Alex Phifer (5-10, 180, defensive back) helped guide Greenville HS to the state 5A playoffs, and Marquise Diamond (pronounced mar-KWEZ), a 5-foot-11, 190-pound defensive back, posted 70 stops including eight for a loss in contributing to Piedmont High’s 10-3 finish ? the school advanced to the quarterfinals of the state 3A playoffs before losing to the eventual champion.
The state of Louisiana also provided the Jaguars with a pair of teammates, as Bryson James (6-3, 200, linebacker) and Romelle Jones (6-2, 270, defensive lineman) helped guide New Orleans East St. John HS to the state 5A playoffs. Dalvin Harris, a 6-foot, 185-pound linebacker who is also from the city, led his John Ehret squad to the postseason at the same level as well.
Logan Bennett and Montavious Williams also teamed up at the prep level, as their Cairo (Ga.) HS squad went undefeated with a 14-0 record on the way to claiming the state 3A title. Bennett is a 6-foot, 205-pound linebacker who was a two-time all-region and all-area selection, while Williams ? a 6-foot-2, 270-pound defensive lineman ? earned those same accolades after pacing the Syrupmakers in total tackles, stops for loss and sacks. Matt Autry (6-4, 210, defensive line) collected 44 tackles to go along with eight quarterback hurries in helping Norcross High to an 8-4 finish and victory in the opening round of the 5A playoffs, and Clifton Crews (6-3, 200, linebacker) posted 136 stops for Atlanta’s Jonesboro HS. The Cardinals earned their first-ever playoff victory in 49 years when they advanced in the 4A bracket last fall.
The only other state with multiple players in the recruiting class was Mississippi. Vernon Saffold, a defensive lineman who hails from Clarksdale, was credited with 87 stops including six sacks at Coahoma Community College. The 6-foot-3, 250-pound defensive lineman was the lone junior-college player to sign Wednesday. Tyler Tisdale, a 6-foot-3, 265-pound offensive lineman, led Petal High to a berth in the state 5A playoffs after going 7-0 in region action, while Bryant Lavender is a 5-foot-11, 180-pound wide receiver from Gulfport HS.
Both quarterbacks who signed Wednesday helped lead their schools to postseason success at their previous stops. Myles Gibbon, who is 6-foot-2, 190 pounds and hails from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, guided Vanier College to the Bol D’Or title a year ago before the Cheetahs fell in the semifinals in the fall. Kyle Stewart (6-3, 225) led Tallahassee’s Florida High to an 11-2 record and berth in the semifinals of the state 2B playoffs in 2008.
“We divided every position up and had a number at each one that we wanted to target. We didn’t want to turn down a very good player, so we were willing to take one more at one position and one less at another, but we didn’t want to be out of balance,” added Jones. “It all really worked out the way we wanted it to.”
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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